Just watched the simulcast subs on Animax.
1. You wouldn't think GONZO's having money problems by the way the show is animated. Fantastic illustrations, the 3D isn't out of place, smooth aerial flight animations and the like.
2. From the moment it starts, it starts on high octane and grabs you by the balls and doesn't let go. As if by choice, the episode events plays extremely similar to the start of the original. It's engaging from the getgo and begins the intrigue and excitement early. I was expecting a slow start to help bring the world into play for new viewers and to ease the rest of us older fans back, but it manages surprisingly to do both without missing a beat. A lot of care was obviously placed in the pilot.
3. Hats off to Fam. She has pretty big shoes to fill as Claus' spiritual successor, and she delivers. Sassy, decisive and willing to get into the thick of things when she has to. She shares a lot with the aforementioned lead hero of the original series actually. Hats off to Toyosaki Aki too for bringing Fam to life with a great performance.
4.
In short, the action and intrigue will grab new viewers from the get go, and fans of the original will find it very easy to get back into the world of Vanships and their pilots. It's both reminiscent of it's predecessor yet manages to present itself to some extent as a series that isn't merely a sequel or mooching off its pedigree.
Fantastic opener. Best of the season yet.